Waterglass valve



Sept. 24, 1935. I H. FURTNEY WATERGLASS VALVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledFeb. 13, 1931 gmenfo'c Sept. 24, 1935. H URT NEY 7 2,015,398

WATERGLAS S VALVE I 2 Sheets-Sheet? Filed Feb. 13, 1951 4o. sencv.

UNITED. STATES- IJIPATENT oF-iucs warnncmss VALVE m Furtne'y, st. Paul,Minn. Application February '13, 1931, Serial No. 515,482 acm' g. (Cl.251134) My invention relates to a waterglass valve'ining a" waterglasswith my waterglass valves in tended principally for use on waterglasscocks on all steam boilers to provide a valve with an indicating meanswhich will show at a glance to 5 the engineer -or fireman whether or notthe. valves for the waterglass are open or closed.

H etofore valves forwaterglassesjhave been in do so that it is necessaryto try them 'by hand to determine whether or not they are open orclosed. Even though the waterglass shows water therein, 'this doesnotindicate that the valves are open or closed, and in operating steamboilers it is very important that'the engineer or iireman be able totell at a glance whether or not the valves for the waterglass are openor closed because should the valves be closed and water be indicated inthe water'glass at a cer- ,readyto explode or cause a serious accidentupon the injection of cold water into the overheated boiler.

, Mywaterglass valve overcomes these objections and provides a means totell at a glance whether or not the valve is open; and it is also a 5feature to provide a valve which cannot be part 1y open, but which musteither be fully open or entirely closed. This structuregprovides a valvefor a waterglass which overcomes the objectionable features of the oldhand type operated waterglass valves or cocks and gives a true'indication of the amount of water in the boiler when the valvesareopen.

It is a feature to provide a valve sible chance'of being scalded orburned when mits the valveto be operated at a safe distance and is amaterialadvantage in case of an emer- A'iurther feature of myvalveresides. in the plunger structure, together with a circular valve.

. member which is formed with a double seating surface by means of theV-shaped cross-sectional 45 shape througlfthe ring-like valve memberwhich is adapted to fit into a seat designed to receive the same. Thisform of valve and the connecting parts which'permit the same to rotatein the operation of the same,, insures a positive seating of the valvewhen in closed position.-=

' The features,- details and particular structure will be clearlydefined. In the drawings forming part of the specifica- .tion:

as. Figure 1 for a'waterglass which maybe operated from a distance by acord or cable, thereby preventing any posconjunction therewith. I Figure2' is a front view ofjone of the valves showing the same in shutposition. Figure 3 is a front view of one of the valves, 5 showing thesame in open position.

Figure 4 is a side view ofone'of the valves, showing the same in closedposition. i Figure 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional 'view of a portionofthe valve, showing the same in 10 closed position. I The waterglassvalves A are designed to operate n conjunction with the waterglass B soas to dicate to the-engineer orflreman whether boilers or'in any steamboiler this is a very im portant feature. for,. should the valves whichtain level, the boiler may be almost dry and control the fl' w of waterinto the waterglass be closed or. onl partly open, they may not indi-''cate the true level of the water inth boiler C. '20

Many explosions have resulted from the fact that the waterglass valvesin theold type operated waterglass union l2. The body I: of the valve toA may be made of any suitable material such as,

brass or other material ordinarily employed "in the making of valves ofthis nature.

Secured to thebody portion II I provide} packing 'gland nut ll,whichextends from the 35 front of the valve A and through which thevalve plunger It extends. A packing nut" l8 maintains the packing'i'nthe chamber I! about the" valve plunger i5so as to keep a tight joint.

I The plunger l5 carries the circular valve me m- 40. 4 ber 18- on theinner end thereofwhich is formed with a ring-like seating portion havingthe two beveled surfaces l9 which form a V-shape in cross-section, asillustratedln Figure 5,.for the seating portion of the valve 18. Thedouble valve seats 20 are formed in'the body l3 .of the valve A againstwhich the-eurfacesls -engage, while a recess 2b is formed in the body ofthe valve A extending in beyond the seating portions 20 for the valve soas to permit the sharp or pointed end 22' of the valve It to' freelyseat itself against the surfaces 20 This ring-like sharp-edged valveinsures a tight joint in the body of the "valve A so illustrates aportion ofa boiler, show that when the valve 18 is in closed positionpressure or the water from the boiler C is shut &

off from the glass 13.

Within the circular valve member I8 is provided a hollow Hi. In theoperation of the valve, wateror liquid surges into the hollow I8 and isdeflected back toward the valve seat to flush the passageways in thegauge cock entering the boiler. Because of this action, the hollow I8 isof considerable importance) and provides a self-flushing valve, thepassages of which are continually clean.

In operating the plunger valve I8, if excess pressure is required inclosing the valve, it indicates that the pipe line is plugged at somepoint. This indication is of great importance, and may prevent a boilerexplosion.

The outer end of the valve plunger l carries a coil spring 23 whichoperates against the washer 24, causing the pressure of the spring 23 tobe exerted against anoperating lever arm 25. An adjustable outershoulder washer 26 and a lock nut 21 are carried by the threaded end ofthe valve plunger |5 which engage against the outer surface of the lever25. 'The lever 25 is designed to operate the valve plunger l5 and it ispivoted at 28.to the bracket 29. The bracket 29 is supported by thebolts 30 to the side of the body I3 i guards will be hereinafter morefully pointed out.

The operating lever 25 is formed with a restricted end portion 32 withan eye 33 on the free end thereof. A second operating lever 34 ispivoted to the bracket 29 at 35 and, is formed with a straddling portion36 which carries an adjusting set screw 31. The set screw 31 may beadjusted so that the end 38 will be adjusted against the surface 39 ofthe operating lever 25. A shoulder or lug 40 is formed projecting fromthe operating lever 25 against which a shoulder portion 4| formed on thestraddling portion 36 of the lever 34 is adapted to engage to cause thelever 34 to hold the lever 25 locked in closed position. The-set screw31 permits the lever 34 to be adjusted in relation to the lever 25 sothat just'the proper amount of engagement is afforded between theshoulder 40 and the engaging portion 4| of the locking lever 34. Thelever 34 is provided with an eye 42 in the outer free end of the samewhich operates in conjunction with the eye 33 by means of a cable Econnected through the eye 33 and to the eye 42 so that the levers 25 and34 may be 'operated-by a suitable cable which extends remote from thewaterglass B. This cable operating means through the connection with theeyes 33 and 42 permits the engineer or fireman to operate the valve A toopen or close the same from a safe distance so as not to be scalded orinjured when the waterglass B is broken.

The lever 34' has plainly marked across the straddle portion 36 the word"Shut as indicated at 44, on the front of the straddle portion 36, toclearly indicate from the front of the 'valve A when it is in closedposition. The side arms extending down from the straddle portion 36 ofthe lever 34, such as 45, which extend on each side of. the lowerportion of the lever 25, also have appearing thereon the word Shut at 46so as to indicate from the side of the valve A like in Figures 1 and 4,that the valve A is in closed position. This wording or indication thatthe valve is shut may be prominently displayed on the front and sides ofthe lever 34 and may ap ear in a different color, such as red, toindicate to the engineer or fireman that the 'valve A is closed whenindication such as 46 thereon, or covering the levers 25 and 34 are inthe positions illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 4 and 5. "Thus an indicatingmeans is provided to the engineer and fireman that the valve A is inclosed position. When the valve A is in open position the locking lever34 is dropped 5 down as indicated in dotted outline in Figure 4, and asis also indicated in the front view of Figure 3, so that viewing thevalve A from the front,

the word Shut will be virtually invisible andthe guard plates 3| on thebracket 29 will hide or cover that portion of the side arms 45 whichcarry he he word Shut so that it is not visible from the side of thevalve A when the valve is in open position. The operation of the valve Ais extremely simple and the same'may be instantly opened by pulling; thelever 34 by the connected cable or by; hand. As soon as the lever 34 hasbeen pulled sufficiently to release the portion 4| from the shoulder 40the spring 23 will force the lever to swing into valve open position,causing the valve I3 to open quickly and direct water to the waterglassB and pivoting the lever 34 outwardly to drop down against the bracket29. In this manner the water gauge glass will truly indicate the amountof 25 water in the boiler C. Should the waterglass break at any time thevalve A can be quickly closed by cables connected to the eyes 33 and 42of the levers 25 and 34, respectively, from a distance, making a safervalve for the engineer and fireman. The valve proper l8, rotatessufliciently due to movement of vibration, or may be rotated by hand tomaintain a good seat to keep the same tightly closed when it is desired.This form of valve is particularly adapted for steam boilers in con- 5junction with water gauge glasses and I believe will maintain a betterefliciency in closed position than the old forms of valves used for thispurpose.

A tight seating of the valye'is insured by the structure set forth.

In my experience as a railroad locomotive engineer for many years, Ihave found numerous instances where one or both valves were partlyclosed or entirely closed while the water gauge glass indicated asuflicient water level in the boiler on the old type of water gaugevalves. My valve will overcome these undesirable features 0'! the oldtype and will provide in a sense, a safety valve for the engineer orfireman for locomotives, or for any steam boilers so that at a glance itmay 50 be determined whether the valve is in open or closed .position.These features, together with the advantage of a remotely controlledvalve for a water gauge glass and the structure of securely seating thevalve accomplishes very desirable resuits and will have a tendency toinsure against explosion of steam boilers, particularly for the reasonthat my valve must be either entirely shut or fully open, and by theindicating means which permits the operator of the m boiler to know at60 a glance whether the water gauge glass is correctly indicating thewater in the boiler or not.

In accordance with the patent statute's I have 1 described theprinciples of my water gauge valve which I have described andillustrated in a man- 66 ner to indicate the best embodiment thereof,the features are apparent, and the structure may be altered within thescope of thom skilled in the art and following claims.

I claim:

1. A water gauge valve for steam boilers ineluding, a body portion, avalve member, a plunger for operating said valve member, spring meansfor moving said valve member into open position,

lever means on said body portion ensmble 7'6,

with said plunger for moving said valve into closed position and forholding said valve member in locked closed position, and indicatingmeans on said lever means operable with the movement of said lever meansto show at a glance the open or closed position of said valve member.

2. A waterglass valve for steam boilers, having, a body portion adaptedto connect with the water gauge glass and a steam boiler, a valve memberwithin said body portion, a plunger for operating said valve member,spring means hearing against said body portion for moving said valvemember into open position, a lever con- ,nected .with said plungeragainst which said spring means is adapted to operate, a second leveradapted to straddle over said first lever, cooperating means on saidlevers to lock the same in valve closed position, said valve memberhaving only two positions, one looked closed and the other wide open.

3. A valve for steam boiler water gauges comprising, a ring-like valvemember, a seat for receiving said valve member, a plunger for operatingsaid valve member, spring means for moving said valve member into openposition, lever means for moving said plunger to close' said valvemember and compressing said spring, a locking lever adapted to straddlesaid means, means cooperable between said levers to lock the same invalve closed position, and means secured to one of said levers forremotely operating said valve member.

4. A valve comprising, a plunger valve member, a lever eng ng saidplunger valve member tor operating said valve member longitudinally andadapted to hold said member in closed posi- 5. A valve comprising, aplunger valve mem- 5 ber, a lever means for moving said memberlongitudinally, a locking lever engageable with said lever means to holdthe same-in one extreme position, indicia on said locking lever, andmeans for concealing said indicia when said levers are out of lockingengagement.

6. A valve comprising, a valve member, a rod secured thereto, springmeans for moving said valve member in one direction, means for movingsaid valve member in the other direction, means for locking the secondnamed valve member moving means in one extreme position, indicia onsaidlocking means, and means for concealing said indicia when, saidlocking means is out of engagement with said valve member moving means.

7. A valve comprising,- a longitudinally operable plunger valve member,a pivoted indicating member operable with said valve member, means foroperating said valve member, indicia on three sides ofsaid indicatingmember, andmeans for concealing said indicia when said indicating memberis pivotally moved to one extreme position.

8. A valve comprising, a valve member. a plung- .er secured to saidvalve member, a lever .ctor

operating said plunger, a lug on said lever, a second lever straddlingsaid first lever, and means extreme position.

HENRY FURTNEY.

